Going in blind
by SawftFox
Summary: As Nick's relationship deepens, the secrets of his past start to come out. Ones that will come back to haunt him.


Edited by: KharonR34per

 **Chapter 1: Just like any other day...**

Today was just like any other day in Zootopia. "Just a normal day at work," Nick said under his breath. It had been about six months since he joined the ZPD. He can still hear her voice as she gave a speech at his ceremony. The voice that was as essential to his day as his morning coffee. Not only his partner, but someone that he can call a true friend. The first animal to see him other than a low life: the one and only Judy Hopps.

The two had been through lot together in the last year and half. The highlight being that the two had solved not only the Missing Mammal case, but the Night Howler case as well. While Nick was waiting for his ZPD Academy paperwork to clear, he and Judy had hung out together a few times. He didn't know when, but at some point in that short time he started looking forward to spending time with the bunny. His hope was that once he graduated, he would be partnered with Judy due to their previous partnership. If he was being honest with himself, he was worried that he and Judy would be assigned different partners and as far as Nick was concerned, Judy Hopps was the best.

Nick yawned, breaking his train of thought. He wasn't quite used to regular work hours. Being a con-fox, his job required that he have 'flexible' work hours. Some days he did not even bother getting out of bed or changing into fresh clothes. That had all changed when a small, grey rabbit had conned _him_ into helping her. She had marched into his life and turned it upside down. She showed him something that had been missing from his life since before… well it had been a _long_ time. She showed him compassion, understanding and friendship; even to the point of begging for his forgiveness when she realized her mistakes. She had made him truly _care_ about another mammal and he was determined to live up to the faith she had put in him or die trying.

On that note, Nick realized that he had been standing in front of his Fur-Fury 2000 series fur dryer for too long. He muzzle-palmed at the ribbing he would get at the station and proceeded to brush his fur and get into his uniform, noting that he was running behind. He jogged his way to the subway, forgoing his normal coffee stop in an effort to make up for lost time. The spoon-supporting sludge that Precinct One called coffee would have to suffice for this morning. Maybe he could talk Carrots into stopping once they were out on patrol…

Walking up to the modern edifice that housed Precinct One, Nick was startled out of his hurried pace by a peppy, "Hey there Slick!" Almost skidding to stop, Nick turned to take in the sight of his best friend and ZPD Academy sponsor, responding with an easy, "Hey Fluff!" and a more sarcastic, "Ready to make the world a better place?"

Shaking her head, Judy joined Nick on his journey up the steps into Precinct One, pausing only to hip-bump him like she had done at the Gazelle concert, catching him by surprise at the top of the steps and drawing an odd look from the fox. They wasted no time on their way to the aptly named bullpen, waving at Clawhauser as they passed. The portly cheetah waved back with a doughnut-filled paw while he responded to a radio message. Their morning meeting was short, with Chief Bogo assigning them to Tundra-Town patrol, commenting that maybe the lack of humidity would help with Nick's 'volume' issue. Nick refrained from responding, as he was still afraid that Bogo would assign him to another partner. Francine suggested that Nick borrow his partner's conditioner, while stage-whispering to Judy that if he called her 'fluff' in public that passers-by might think he was talking to himself. Nick just muzzle-palmed again and silently reminded himself that he needed to keep a timer by the fur-dryer.

The two sat in their patrol vehicle at a not so busy corner of Tundra Town. Today they got assigned on traffic enforcement duty. It's nothing like the Night howler case but it's better than parking duty. A LOT better than parking duty. The fox glances Judy as she sits in the passenger seat. He's been noticing that every now and then she looks away when he turns to her, like he caught her with her paw in the proverbial cookie jar. _Was she just checking me out? Or do I have something on my shirt?_ A quick glance down proved that the latter was not the case, leaving him to further consider the former.

Judy broke the ice first: "SO..." What she was saying was lost on the fox as he considered his relationship with her. He got along very well with Judy. She and Finnick sat high on a short list of animals that can handle his snarky attitude; a fact which he appreciated greatly. However, their conversations over the last couple weeks were strained, almost awkward. Sometimes their conversations devolved into long periods of silence while they were on patrol or finishing up their reports. Nick couldn't help but feel the tension building between them. Due to his con artist lifestyle, his mind was conditioned to gravitate to the worst case scenario during times like this, as a self-protection method. His keen ability to read people and this mental exercise had allowed him to avoid many physical altercations in the past. He was reliving this apprehension as he thought: _what had he done to make her uncomfortable_?

"Nick?" The fox shook his head quickly as his thoughts once again overruled his partner's verbal interaction. "REALLY? I thought you were enjoying it. Crackers Nick, you can always quit if it's that bad!" Judy's nose twitched angrily as she glared at the fox. Obviously, she was upset that he seemingly ignored the bunny's previous question. _Crap, what did she say_?

"Sorry, Carrots. I totally spaced out on you." His face pulled into a pout as he whined, "Pwease don't be mad at me."

"Well, I'm glad you are paying attention. It could have been an emergency!" The bunny said petulantly with a roll of her eyes. "I said: are you enjoying the life of a crime fighter or are you pining for your more legally wayward lifestyle?"

"I am the picture of Law Enforcement bliss, Carrots. Nothing like sitting in a cold patrol car with no action happening." He replied back, then a sly grin grew on his muzzle. "Of course I couldn't ask for better company. But seriously, I was under the impression that we would have more cases would be like the night howler case"

"Ha, ha. You don't know the half of it. You didn't see the mountains of paperwork on my desk after that fiasco."

"I do recall a certain rabbit, who will remain nameless, that wouldn't stop texting me about how boring staring at a computer screen was."

"Well forget all the paperwork and the boring stuff. Working with you all day I've noticed the uniform looks good on you." He couldn't help but smile as he caught Judy's eyes move over him, then quickly look away. _So she was checking me out._

Nick simply looked down at his uniform and gives a small shrug. "You know it's not as comfy as my previous wardrobe. Buuuuuut... I do like wearing a tie with it. Makes me look official." He smirks briefly, as he adjusts his tie. "Thanks for the complement, Carrots."

A scoff escaped from Judy, accompanying another eye roll. "Yeah, well, after all those comments about me being cute, I have to repay the favor, don't I?" Nick couldn't hide his ears perking up as he noticed that her tone changed. "Even though they were only made to infuriate me, you laid the sarcasm on a bit thick."

"Did I say some of those things to irritate you? Well, yes, some of them. You shouldn't just hand out information on what makes you offended, when it could be used against you. But, for the record, there was no sarcasm from me. You'll always be a cute bunny to me." Nick rested his arm on the rolled down window and looked back at the road. "A pretty damn cute bunny." Nick purposely keeps his gaze away from Judy, but his ears are focused on her. Even though he doesn't see it he can pretty much tell that last comment made Judy blush slightly, and he heard her shift in her seat a bit.

Judy turned her head away from Nick so he wouldn't see her shocked embarrassment. Nick, surprised by her silence, quickly looked back over at her. "No comeback? I thought you didn't like the 'C' word."

"Look Wilde, I may have a problem with being called cute, but only when people are lumping all bunnies in the 'cute' category. Personally, I think its funny when you call me cute, like it's some kind of bad thing; and don't think I'm going to let you rile me up like that anymore." Judy threw Nick a smug smirk that could have appeared in his own mirror, "you were the one who caved on showing their feelings first after all. I seem to remember something about 'never let them see that they get to you' on the sky-lift?"

It was true. Judy had broken through the barriers that he had spent 20 years building. He wasn't a bad fox, society just expected him to act that way. If they weren't going to treat him any better than a criminal, then that's what he'd give society. When he saw the way Bogo was treating Judy because she was a bunny, he realized that they weren't so different. He was no more meant to be a criminal than Judy was meant to farm carrots. They could do either respectively, but it was not their calling. She showed him that. She was his inspiration to rise above what he'd allowed himself to become. He hoped and prayed that she would never change, would keep proving society wrong. That was one of the things that made him fall in love with her in the first place.

"Well it felt nice actually having a real friend. Someone I can trust," Nick responded, pulling his mind back to the present conversation and less hazardous terrain. He pointed a finger at Judy and said, "Don't get used to it, fluff."

"Mmm…" Judy thought for moment then shook her head. "I don't think so 'Slick' Nick. I've known you for more than a year now." Judy shuffles her feet as she looks at the floorboards. "I will admit, sometimes it feels like I don't really know the real you… Like you're still hiding stuff from me."

"Lies and slander. I'm not hiding anything from you because _you_ never asked. I'm not just gonna let everything about me out of the cage all at once. I might scare you off!"

"Oh! In that case..." Like a switch had been flipped, Judy's sour mood evaporated and her face lit up with happiness as she clasped her paws together in excitement. "Where should we start… Ah! What are your favorite hobbies? What movies make you cry? How many girlfriends have you had and are there any I should know or worry about?"

Nick chuckled. Again he was not unpleasantly surprised at Judy's no-holds-barred view of the world. He had never been grilled like this, even by his friends when trying to 'weasel' juicy details out of him, much less a prospective date. "No surprise you would jump into it like this." He held up a finger with each response: "four girlfriends, none that I've been in contact with for over two years, pretty much any movie that has Bill Smith cry in it, making Pawpsicles, playing video games after a long day of work and hanging out with you."

"Any movie that has him cry in it? I don't think I've ever seen that buffalo cry in a movie, can buffalo's even cry?" He can't help but notice as the bunny starts to peer over at him, eyes narrowed. "Four ladies, huh? They weren't at the same time were they?"

Nick puts his hand on his chest theatrically. "Why I am _hurt_ , Carrots. That you'd ever think that I, Nick Wilde, would be that type of fox." Nick turned his head at the glaring bunny, thinking: _turnabout is fair play._ "Why the sudden interest, Ms. Hopps?"

"No sudden interest! I'm just trying to get you to open up more! You did say I could ask you any questions. You know me! Never one to back down from a challenge!" Judy puffs her chest out proudly, hoping to cover up her _entirely too quick response. 'Nice going Judy'_ she thought to herself.

"Oh, yeah. I've seen that first hand. You conned a criminal con artist, befriended him, made yourself important enough to him that he had a change of heart, sponsored him at ZPD academy and even partnered with him." Nick smiled warmly. "I'm not sure how I can repay that. Guess I'll just have to be the best cop I can be to make it up to you."

"Exactly! If I made Nick Wilde a helping member of society, what can't I do?" Judy asked as she mentally patted herself on the back for her achievement, and for sidetracking Nick enough to forget about her quick response.

Nick looked away, purposefully facing away from his friend said, "Apparently getting yourself a boyfriend! You didn't mention one or even show an interest in any male. If I didn't know better, I would wonder if you were a lesbian!" The fox commented and he snickered at the bunny. He heard an angry snort from Judy and felt a small fist hit him in the side.

"I just haven't been looking! And I most certainly am NOT gay!" Judy said defensively. Nick rubbed the spot where she punched him. For a small mammal, she is certainly in shape and packs quite the punch.

"Hey, easy there carrots. I'm just saying if you could marry the job, you would already be engaged."

"Very funny. One, I already checked. It's not legal. Two, it's been my life goal since I was six years old and I'm living it!" The bunny scooted closer to Nick. "Three, it's with my snarky partner _and_ best friend. Four, I'm in a car that is way more comfortable than the one I had on my the first day on the force"

"You mean that little M3?" Nick asked.

"M3?" Judy replied.

"Meter Maid Mobile! I can only imagine us patrolling in that." Nick laughed to himself and Judy spat a couple laughs of her own at his nickname for the small vehicle. Nick stopped to think about what Judy said, "hold the phone Fluff…best friend?" _Not the word friend_...

His ear twitched as Judy paused for a moment. Nick waited, noticing the signs that told him she was thinking very carefully about what to say next. "Well, who else would I call my best friend?" She sighed as she stared out of the window. "Sure, I had some friends back home but here in the city? Not so much, and since I put so much time in at work, I haven't made going out and meeting people a priority. You're one of the few people I know well Nick. I wouldn't be surprised if you already have a best friend, but I don't know who else I would call mine."

" _Hey, Nick you're a great fox and a good friend but…"_ is where Nick thought this was going. He nodded to clear his thoughts, making it look like he was nodding in agreement as he listened to the bunny. Then, Nick responded: "Besides you, there's Finnick. He was the closest animal that I ever had to a friend. Even though we won't admit it, we think of it more as business partners." He used a claw to pick something out of his teeth. "I always thought you were pretty close to Bellwether until she went all crazy psycho on us."

Judy blinked in amazement at the fox's comment, "Seriously Nick? Close? I barely knew her. She was someone that if I needed a helping hand at City Hall she was it. I naively helped her get closer to her crazy agenda." She shivered at the thought. " Like you said yourself, she turned out to be a complete nutcase. A terrible, specist nutcase…."

"What did I tell you Carrots? Zootopia isn't a perfect place… Full of specists, nutcases and savage foxes." He let out a mock growl with his last statement and raised his claws theatrically. "You unfortunately learned that out the hard way, but… " Nick turned to Judy and locked her purple orbs with his emerald pools. The fox's voice went soft like it always did when he was being sincere, "even in a fucked up world you can find someone perfect. That's all that matters."

Nick smirked to himself as he noticed the flush return to Judy's cheeks and ears at the sincerity of his speech, coupled with the intensity of his gaze. He saw the look in her eyes as she stared at him. The look spoke of trust they shared. It did not help that she was completely lost for words. Her nose started to twitch from the emotional buildup. Nick couldn't help himself. "Your nose is making you look cute again, Carrots," Nick teased. He started the patrol car and turned on the heat. "No action happening here. Let's head elsewhere. Somewhere warmer than this."

Judy was silent, still processing what Nick had said. She then realized she was still blushing and covered her face with her paws. Nick barely heard her question, as it was muffled by her paws, "...You really think I'm perfect?"

"Hm?" Nick looked over at her before he drove off, absolutely loving every second of her reaction. "Do I think you're perfect? Yes. Yes I do." He gave Judy a quick smile, shifted the patrol car into drive and started to drive towards a new location.

"That's really sweet of you Nick..." Judy returned his smile and reached over, placing a paw on his arm. "I knew that there was a caring fox somewhere in there. That's why you're perfect for me, too. After all, that's why I requested you as my partner, partner."

 _Me, perfect? If I ever heard anything further from the truth…_ Nick pulled up to a stop sign and checked both ways before turning left. "Oh come on Fluff, flattery will get you in the door, but that BS will burn you every time. Carrots, I'm far from perfect and I've had 20 years to realize how _im_ perfect I am." He kept his eyes on the road as he spotted a familiar corner. It's one of the spots where he used to hustle. He remembered seeing a lot of speeding vehicles pass by, almost getting hit once or twice as he crossed the street, if memory served him.

Judy scoffed softly and looked out the window as they pulled up to their new location. "Oh believe me Slick, I'm _fully_ aware. Which is part of the reason I said you're perfect for me. For someone else?" She gave him a small shrug, "eeeh….probably not. You're a real troublemaker after all."

Judy lets out a small sigh, once again sounding a little dejected, "As partners, of course." Nick opened his mouth to say something sarcastic, but Judy continued on, lost in thought. "You're perfect as my partner not as… a couple or anything serious." She chuckled nervously. "Wouldn't that be strange, huh?" Her eyes fell in embarrassment as she kept digging the hole she started. "A fox and bunny in a relationship?! That's the start of a bad joke." Inwardly, she was a little horrified at the words spilling out of her mouth. ' _What are you doing?!'_ she thought.

' _So…she's been thinking about us_ that _way?'_ Nick's interest was piqued, but he needed to set her straight.

"Not really," Nick stated. "I've seen the whole cross species dating thing before. I actually tried it myself once. Second in my record of four girlfriends I told you about before. She was a very nice impala," Nick tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he reminisced. "This was _long_ before her singing career took off." He shook his head. "I haven't spoken to her since she moved to a different part of town to be closer to her recording studio. I bet she doesn't even remember little ol' me. But a fox dating a bunny... I never dated a bunny. Usually, a fox in the vicinity made them too nervous to start a conversation, much less flirt with them." He relaxed in his seat as the car warmed up enough to ward off the chill. Ever since the academy, he couldn't help but think of a possible relationship with Judy. She had made way too much of an impact in his life for him to think about his life without her in it. He knew a cross species relationship could work; he'd seen other animals get married and adopt some kits to raise as their own. "It's actually crossed my mind once or twice. More so since I found the right bunny." Nick's eyes slid over to her as he smirked.

Judy's nose started twitching again. "You've thought about us… together?" She gave the fox a hopeful smile before her face fell. "...Wait. Does this mean you thought it over and decided it wouldn't work?!"

Hearing the bunny's tone shift, he returns her smile with one of his own. "Well no. That's not what I meant… I mean…" He sighed and rested his hand on hers. "Yeah, I've thought about us being together like that but… it's complicated." He chuckles. "You bunnies, just so emotional."

"S-so now you're saying it's because I'm just too emotional for you, is that it?" He could tell Judy was getting upset, tears started forming in the corners of her eyes. He silently cursed his choice of words and felt responsible for her being upset. He definitely didn't help anything with his last comment. Before he could say anything Judy said, "I've thought about it too, for your information."

 _She's frustrated because of me. For liking me and not knowing how I feel about it, despite it being against her nature as prey and I just had to go with the sarcasm about bunnies being emotional. I need to fix this._ He turned to Judy, put one hand on her cheek and leaned toward her, soundly kissing her. Judy tensed, shocked for a moment. Then her brain caught up to what was happening and she relaxed into the kiss. It was not a demanding kiss, nor full of passion, demanding to be quickly and more forcefully repeated. It was simple, short and sweet. The perfect way to express how one felt about another, nothing more, nothing less. But despite the surprise of the fox and the rabbit, a spark was kindled in each of them.

"Judy, I'm not saying you're too emotional, or too much of anything for me." He quickly looked up and down the street, making sure there were no oncoming vehicles. "But we are both in uniform and still at our post. Now is not the time nor this the place to discuss _this._ " The situation was just crazy. They were both worked up, wound up and flustered. Nick fought the urge to laugh. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself, knowing laughter would only upset her more. The fox turned back to his partner and gave Judy a gentle but serious look. "Okay. How about this: we finish our shift, then we'll go get something to eat and discuss… _this_ …" He points to her for a second and then back to himself, "while we eat, okay?"

He smiled inwardly as he got a sigh and a chuckle from Judy. She sat up straight and fixed her uniform. She licked her paws and smoothed down the fur on top of her head. "This time, you're right, Nick. We are still on duty and getting dinner with you after work sounds great. I'm starving."

"That's what I like to hear." Nick relaxed some in his seat. That was a close one Nick. _There are SO many ways that could have gone HORRIBLY wrong..._ He recalled the time when he had bared his teeth and pretended to lunge at Judy after the press conference. It was stupid of him to get upset at her for going for her fox spray. She had no other weapon on her! If a predator bigger than him was lunging, he would have done the exact same thing. When she came back to Zootopia after turning in her badge and going back to Bunnyburrow, he was ecstatic. Finnick sent him a text saying that 'the bunny cop' was looking for him and it took all his moxy to stay where he was and act like he didn't want to see her or hear anything she had to say that day. If she had waited another 24 hours he would've gone down to Bunnyburrow and apologized on his knees. Instead, she had found him and poured her heart out to him. ' _I've never met anyone like her. Ever.'_ he thought.

After a long day their shift was finally over. The two were rather subdued for the rest of their shift. The chats during the rest of their day stayed firmly in the 'work' realm, not straying into the 'personal' category. Just a normal day of talking to suspects, mitigating disputes and taking statements. Halfway into their shift they switched seats, Nick not minding Judy taking over the driving for a while. Besides, he enjoyed poking fun at the rabbit's driving, but she was a good driver despite his ribbing

Judy pulled up to the station and parked the cruiser in their normal spot. Nick unbuckled his seatbelt and checked to make sure he had everything before he hopped out of the cruiser. He started to shut the door, when he noticed that Judy hadn't moved. Instead she was watching him. He swallowed hard and rolled back into his 'safe' territory - sarcasm - and asked the rabbit, "not having second thoughts about dinner are you Fluff?"

That got her moving. One thing they both knew is that Judy Hopps never knew when to quit. She was waiting for _him_ by the time he reached the back of the cruiser, her foot rapidly tapping the ground in impatience. They headed inside and up to the locker rooms to change. When he took the right to move toward the 'male's' area of the locker rooms, Judy called his name.

"Nick! Twenty minutes. We don't have all night."

Nick gave her a thumbs up as he headed towards the locker room. "Twenty minutes. Got it. Don't you worry Fluff." He walked calmly into the locker room. His calm evaporated once he was out of Judy's sight. He sprinted toward the lockers, not even bothering to fully undo his tie and shirt before pulling them over his head. He then proceeded to throw everything on a bench in the general vicinity of his locker; mumbling, "I really need to get the smell of work off of me." He grabbed a towel and opened his assigned locker, mouthing the combination as he worked the lock. He grabbed a bottle of fur shampoo and added conditioner as well as the extra clothes he kept in there and gave them a quick sniff to make sure they didn't reek. _Still fresh_. He set a timer on his phone and hurries over to the group showers. He used the showers built for wolves. It was a bit of a reach to the handles for an unaided fox, but Nick put in a locker room remodel request to the department's building maintenance, citing his inability to reach the smallest shower controls. They didn't follow his request to remodel, as he expected, but they did provide a step stool so he could reach the controls.

 _You're finally taking her out on an official date._ He thought to himself as the water cascaded over him, washing away the dust, dirt and sweat from a day on the streets. He was still in the shower when his alarm went off, warning that he only had seven minutes to meet Judy. He rinsed one final time and stepped out of the shower, dried himself in the fur dryer and saw McHorn entering the locker room. "Hey, McHorn. You got cologne or body spray I can use real quick?"

The rhino looked down at Nick before tossing him a bottle of cologne. "Sure, no problem Wilde." Nick caught it and gave himself a quick spray.

"Thanks, I owe you big time." He returned the cologne and turned to put on his clothes. He looked in the mirror to straighten his tie. He opens his mouth and licks his tongue over his teeth. _Not bad Wilde. Wait… what's that?_ He spotted a few loose patches of fur still standing up from the dryer and licked his paw in an attempt to smooth it down.

"Cologne, a tie and caring that much about your fur? Taking some lucky vixen out are we Wilde?" McHorn couldn't help noticing how much effort Nick is putting into his appearance.

"No vixen." Nick says with a grin as his fur finally cooperated. "A lucky bunny."

McHorn's eyes widened as he sat down on the larger bench. "Hopps? No shit. When did this happen?"

Nick noticed the curiosity of the much larger mammal and smirked. "Asked her to dinner so we can discuss a few things. It's not really a date, just friends getting something to eat after work."

"You don't fool me Wilde. You've been crushing on that bunny since before you joined the ZPD. Surprised it took you this long."

"In my defense didn't want to ruin a good thing. If it ain't broke don't fix it!"

"I hear you there buddy. Well, good luck. You're gonna need it." McHorn gave Nick a thumbs up before slamming his locker shut and leaving through the door to the gym.

The fox soon exited the locker room, looking left and right to make sure Judy wasn't waiting for him. He walked over to Clawhauser's desk and gave the cheetah a small wave before leaning against it. He opened up MuzzleBook and read over his feed while waiting for Judy.


End file.
